The present invention relates to humidifiers, and in particular to a disposable, water-impervious liner for liquid reservoir chambers in the lower case of a humidifer, such as a drum-type humidifier connected to the air flow system of a furnace.
In the prior art drum-type humidifiers, such as disclosed in Stiles U.S. Pat. No. 3,476,673, a chamber is provided for holding tap water or other liquid which is applied to an evaporator medium of a rotating drum. The liquid is evaporated from the evaporator medium into a hot air stream of a furnace to humidify the air stream. Humidifiers are also known in the art to be used with air streams other than hot air streams of furnaces. Such a humidifier is disclosed in Remick U.S. Pat. No. 3,756,579.
A typical disadvantage of a drum-type humidifier utilizing a liquid reservoir chamber filled with tap water is that dirt, dust, lime and other mineral deposits accumulate in the chamber and must be periodically removed to prevent interference with rotation of the drum during operation of the humidifier. Furthermore, particular deposits such as lime or other minerals not only accumulate, but also adhere to surfaces of the chamber. In the prior art apparatus, removal of accumulated and adhering deposits of foreign matter is generally accomplished by obtaining access to the liquid reservoir chamber and scraping, chipping or otherwise removing the deposits from the chamber surfaces, and then removing the deposits from the chamber. Depending upon the ease of access to the liquid reservoir chamber and the ease of removal of the chamber for immersion in a cleaning solution, the task of removing accumulated deposits may present merely a bothersome chore or may be quite difficult.
Other prior art apparatus flow water through a humidifier chamber during humidifier operation to reduce mineral accumulation and algae and bacteria growth. Gallons of water are circulated and discarded during every hour of such humidifier operation, making such an apparatus unsuited for areas in which water conservation is desirable.
Moreover, if the humidifier has a plurality of liquid holding chambers, and means interconnecting the chambers for passage of liquid therethrough, not only is the number of surfaces which accumulate mineral and other deposits increased, but also the interconnecting means may be clogged or the flow of liquid therethrough otherwise reduced by the accumulation and adherence of mineral deposits to surfaces of the chambers and the interconnecting means.